How to remove bloatware and preinstalled Android apps

Not all preinstalled apps on your smartphone will be of use to you. By removing apps you don't want or need, you'll be able to improve your phone's performance and free up storage space. Apps you don't need but cannot uninstall are called bloatware. With our tips, you can delete, remove, disable, or at least hide preinstalled apps and bloatware.

What is bloatware?

Bloatware is often commercial software that is preinstalled on a device by the manufacturer, whether it's useful or not, and tends to waste memory and resources. Sometimes you'll want to get rid of these apps that take up space on your apps list, home screen and internal storage.

Most users never touch a lot of pre-installed apps on their new phone, but rather than leave them there wasting precious computing power and slowing down your phone, it's best to remove or at least disable them. This guide will show you how.

Uninstalling vs. disabling bloatware

When it comes to shifting annoying bloatware, you essentially have two options - disable or uninstall. Both have their pros and cons, but what are the differences? Uninstalling bloatware is the more drastic of the two options, and involves completely removing the files from your device. While this is the best way to ensure that the app will not be bothering you anymore, it is risky as it could cause problems further down the line if some of those files are needed.

Disabling bloatware is much more risk-free. It will ensure that the app does not take up valuable RAM by running in the background but it also means that the app is not really 'gone', in the sense that it is if you have uninstalled it. Depending on the app and your device, the choice between uninstalling and disabling certain apps might not be yours to make anyway. Let's take a look at both approaches.

Disabling bloatware: general guidance

Many apps continue to consume resources while they’re not in active use. They also take up space in the app drawer. Since Android 4.0, however, there has been the option to disable apps.

Head to Settings > Apps.

Here, on most phones, you will find three tabs: All Apps, Disabled, and Enabled.

By tapping on this or that app, you will notice that some apps can be uninstalled. This applies to apps you may have downloaded yourself but there will also be unnecessary bloatware that you can remove (as in the above example, the phone came with Booking.com's app pre-installed).

Or, if you use a third-party app for emails, you can make the default email app on Android disappear. When disabling an app, the system warns you that some programs might not work properly afterwards. This refers to apps that rely on the app in question to function normally.

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Should you change your mind, you can return to the app list and reverse the process. Every app will continue to be listed there, even if it is invisible in the app drawer. Although the layout can vary slightly depending on the manufacturer's OS, the process is very similar on most smartphones. Below you can learn how easy it is to uninstall Samsung apps.

How to delete or disable Samsung's preinstalled apps

Samsung's UI deviates from stock Android in a few ways, and it comes with an alternative process to disable apps:

Simply open the App Drawer

Then long press on any app to bring up a bubble that will allow you to disable the app, or uninstall if possible.

How to delete preinstalled apps

It can be frustrating when you really want to delete an app but the system only lets you disable it. If you really know what you're doing, there's a way to get complete control over your phone's software.

If you are not afraid of voiding your warranty, or getting rid of certain sensitive apps like Samsung Pay or certain online banking apps, you can also root your device. Then you can completely uninstall any app. System app remover (ROOT) helps you do just that. However, be warned, doing this might make any number of other apps stop functioning properly.

Consult these articles (and a tutorial specific to your device) before choosing to root, to better understand the process and its consequences:

Uninstall and disable standard Google apps

Android is a network of several software components and apps. Some of these apps become superfluous if you choose to use an alternative. The result is, after a while, dead weight in the system. Here’s a list of the standard apps that can be safely disabled once you've set up an alternative:

Apps and app ID

App Name

App ID

Browser

com.android.browser

Downloads

com.android.providers.downloads.ui

Email

com.android.email

Gallery

com.android.gallery3d

Camera

com.android.camera2

SMS/MMS

com.android.mms

Sound Recorder

com.android.soundrecorder

Voice Dialer

com.android.voicedialer

Video Studio

com.android.videoeditor

What happens if I disable Android apps?

Once disabled, the apps disappear from your app drawer, stop receiving updates and no longer run silently in the background. In addition, any apps that depend on the disabled app will stop working. Should you disable Google Play Services, for example, several system apps will go down and, more than likely, a few apps that are not directly related to Google will start to behave erratically.

It is therefore important to have a reliably researched list of apps that do not cause collateral damage when you disable them. The above list is incomplete, and will remain that way without your help. Therefore, we invite you to share your experiences with deactivated apps in the comments.

Uninstall tons of apps

We are all guilty of being at least a little lazy when it comes to cleaning up our smartphones. Apps that we no longer use can quickly accumulate out of sight. Uninstalling individual apps through the Play Store is time-consuming, so it is more practical to remove a load all at once. In our guide, we have summarized how multiple apps can be deleted at once using the free app ES File Explorer.

The first step is to download ES File Explorer from the Google Play Store.

ES File Explorer now presents an overview of the apps you have installed. A long press on an icon will select an app, and you then have the option to delete the app using the trashcan icon at the top of the screen.

When you have finished selecting the apps you want to remove, press the uninstall button (the trashcan).

For safety, you must verify each app by pressing OK. The advantage of this is that you can choose not to delete an app you accidentally selected without having to cancel the entire operation.

There you have it, these are the best ways to delete, stop and hide those unwanted apps. When was the last time you cleaned up the apps on your phone? Do you have any questions or suggestions? Share them with us in the comments below.

42 comments

I have a Nokia 3.1 with Android one. I have installed open source launcher, email, contacts, maps and phone dialler from F-droid, also duckduckgo browser extension. I have succeeded in shutting up almost everything by disabling including Google Play Services, although it still sends one annoying notification a couple of times a day saying 'Device Health services won't work unless you enable GPS'. This cannot be turned off. Apart from a notice that appears if I start playing sudoku that says it won't work without GPS, which is a lie that I ignore, everything else is fine. It is annoying though that unless one is a techhead, which I absolutely am not, Google makes it as difficult as possible.

Android One devices and Google Pixel are free from additional bloatware.

Bloatware is certainly undesirable. I remember buying Asus Zenfone Max which offered great specs for the price but came with 50 to 55 Apps pre-installed. I disable about 20 of them. Couldn't uninstall and they consumed a lot of internal storage. What's worse, updates from Asus added additional apps like Instagram. ZenUI was a nightmare.

For now I'm happy with the current configuration. Now I'll know what to do to free up space. I did not root the phone, and this is the next thing I'm going to do, then the customization options are more numerous. But the most interesting thing is the possibility to uninstall implicit applications, even without root, that's what I'm really trying to do. Excellent article, very useful, thanks.

It`s Yours choice. But you will never got rid off from Google spying and reporting to CIA. If you do no want root your device and apply to run programs as You wish, You have alternative choice- buy the I-phone. Nibbled Apple will supply your data to CIA directly. :D

You're correct, it's my choice and I will never choose Samsung again. I also would never choose apple either. Too over priced for the features that I love and not compatible with Project Fi which is the right price for me.

Does Samsung flagship smartphones also come with pre-installed bloatware apps? I am considering to buy Samsung Galaxy S10 next year. What about Bixby? Heard a lot of bad stuff about it. Can't it be disabled?

My phone came with apps that once uninstalled install themselves when I reboot my phone??? Dr Eye and KKbox I never use. When I click on Dr Eye it wants to download a database?! How do I permanently get rid of these?

5 years ago, I was your typical go-buy-a-contract-phone, but broke the cycle & went with an MVNO and outright bought the phone. Most of the time, buying direct from a manufacturer, you have a LOT less bloat. (especially if you don't buy a samsung phone!). Couple apps in my Huawei phone won't uninstall, so I just lock em so they won't work.

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